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Touching the divine: mobility, devotion, and the display of religious objects in early modern Rome

TOUCHING THE DIVINE: MOBILITY, DEVOTION, AND THE DISPLAY OF
RELIGIOUS OBJECTS IN EARLY MODERN ROME
by
Linda Ann Nolan
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(ART HISTORY)
May 2010
Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Nolan

The embodied experience of objects was a historically specific mode of reception formed by the transformations of sacred spaces, rededication of sacred objects, and the continuation of customary religious behavior in early modern Rome. At the end of the 16th century, sacred spaces and art were being reformed as new St. Peter’s Basilica emerged as a devotional space meant to glorify the archaeological evidence of the origins of the Church, providing a model for others to follow. This dissertation focuses on the early modern period, in particular the late 16th- and early 17th-century reception of a selection of ancient, medieval and Renaissance objects, including a bronze sculpture of St. Peter (Basilica di S. Pietro in Vaticano), a marble sculpture of St. Peter (Grotte Vaticane), the Madonna del Parto by Jacopo Sansovino (S. Agostino), the Bocca della Verità (S. Maria in Cosmedin) and a marble sculpture of Christ by Michelangelo Buonarroti (S. Maria sopra Minerva). Some of the objects are quite well known both in the history of art and to the casual visitor to the Eternal City. In bringing together these seemingly unrelated objects, it is my goal to underscore how ancient, medieval, and Renaissance material culture intersected in the sacred spaces of early modern Rome. The dramatic material and spiritual changes at St. Peter’s brought about a moment in which the pagan undercurrents of devotion still lingered on even in the wake of the Counter Reformation.

TOUCHING THE DIVINE: MOBILITY, DEVOTION, AND THE DISPLAY OF
RELIGIOUS OBJECTS IN EARLY MODERN ROME
by
Linda Ann Nolan
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(ART HISTORY)
May 2010
Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Nolan